Psalm 27
(Guest Post from Austin Wynn)
Psalm 27
Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident. One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple. For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock. And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the LORD. Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me! You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, LORD, do I seek.” Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation! For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the LORD will take me in. Teach me your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies. Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence. I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!
(Psa 27:1-14)
Here we see David beginning this psalm declaring who the Lord is to him. David chooses two interesting things to call the Lord. His light, meaning probably that the Lord brings light into his darkened life, and his salvation, meaning probably that the Lord has rescued David from both physical harm time and again and from spiritual harm. David’s declaring who God is for him brings him to question the fear that seems to be knocking ever so loudly at the door of his emotions. This could be reworded as: How can I be afraid of anything when the Lord is on my side? One more thing the Lord is for David: the stronghold of his life. Notice how he says, “the stronghold” There is no other stronghold in his life outside of the Lord. The Lord has proven to be David’s stronghold, so how much more ought He to be ours? One trusts a stronghold. When the enemy is drawing in and there seems to be nowhere to run, the wise general leads his men to the stronghold or fortress where they find safety and can seek a counter attack without fear. The Lord was that stronghold for David. He could always turn to the Lord no matter what trial he was facing. There is no other who can set our hearts at rest in peace while in the midst of the storms of life like our Lord God. David’s repeating of the question of who he has to fear further emphasizes he knowledge that no opponent is worthy of fear when the Lord is your stronghold. Looking at his enemies, David acknowledges that they come to destruction by the Lord’s hand instead of bringing him to destruction. David declares that though everything seem to be up against him in life, he has reason to rejoice. How can a man so liberated by the truth that God is the sovereign and loving Father over every detail of his life be moved to fear, worry, or doubt when life gets rough? David’s deep desire and request of the Lord is to gaze upon Him and seek His counsel. David’s heartbeat is to know more of God and to know God more. David is a man who is God-consumed. Every fiber of his being longs for more of God. He will not be content until he has more of God. A man so God-centered in his thinking is a man whom the Lord will most definitely use to further His kingdom. As God Himself once stated that David was a man after His own heart. David has one desire. Do you have one desire or are there things that take precedence in your life where they ought not? We must always seek to be a people who have one desire and one heartbeat. David’s fourfold declaration of God’s providential protection over his life begins with the word for and probably is the root of the previous desire to gaze upon the Lord’s beauty. When we know of the depths of grace that we have in God being for us, (most clearly seen in Christ) our one desire will become gazing upon the Lord in all His glory. David now moves from a desire to a decision and makes a vow to the Lord that He will sing, make melody, cry aloud, and offer shouts of joy to the Lord. Such open expression of praise to God is given by David with a yearning for God’s response of grace. David will give these things, but he desires communion with God in such praise sacrifices more than anything else. David is given the command from God to seek His face. This is a calling for communion with his Heavenly Father and David will not pass this chance up. He longs to seek the Father’s face and know Him more personally and God longs for His children to do this. When a man like David finds that his desires are in step with God’s desires for him, there is great hope for remarkable spiritual growth. David then looks to those who have forsaken him in the past and prays that God would be different than those. In the very prayer that God not forsake him, David swoops in with the promise that God will take him in. There ought never be a prayer a Christian prays in which he does not remind himself of who God is. It is as though David were praying for God to simply be who He already was and reminded himself that God will always be God. David then seeks education from the Lord. Education in experience and the study of His Word. Once again David is seen praying for God’s deliverance and then promising that God will surely bring about this deliverance. Reassuring of the soul one could call it. David reassures his soul of the great truths of God’s Word so as to inform his prayer life. Gazing upon the beauty of the Lord is David’s desire at the end of this psalm as well. In order to one day get more of God as David so desires, he must be patient and wait for the Lord with a heart well-informed of God’s Word. David’s encouraging must indeed have been to himself. David is seen here preaching to himself once more that he ought to wait for the Lord with courage. Though the salvation is promised, it will be hard to live on a promise when the circumstances seem to bring doubt that the promise will be kept. David, however, will not let himself move to doubt God’s promises, but will all the more seek to submit his soul along with all its emotions to the truth that God is faithful.
